GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - March 14, 2008

ASSOCIATED PRESS
-- VERY SAD: DEMOCRATS OVERJOYED: Jim Edgar appointed Rezko to serve on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board - John Connor
http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2008/03/14/ap-state-il/d8vcuilo0.txt
-- Obama Silent on Earmarks As Illinois Senator - Christopher Wills
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iK-AonJ7KrNoGaEUdj6xsc3_8fmwD8VCS5E80
-- Obama Says Illinois Earmarks Are Public - Christopher Wills
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iK-AonJ7KrNoGaEUdj6xsc3_8fmwD8VCV6GO0

ABC7
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: DEMOCRATS OVERJOYED: Associated Press calls the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) "beleaguered" and has Edgar, Kenyon, McKenna, and Radogno speak for the IRP. Who is responsible for the IRP's current beleaguered condition? Why didn't the AP also get quotes from others who are responsible the IRP's current beleaguered condition including Tom Cross, Kirk Dillard, Peter Fitzgerald, Dennis Hastert, Bob Kjellander, George Ryan, Jim Ryan, Jim Thompson, Judy Baar Topinka, Frank Watson, and the IRP State Central Committee members who have the heaviest weighted vote? Many of the aforesaid have always publicly or constructively blamed "conservatives" for the IRP's problems. Why didn't the AP get quotes on why the IRP is beleaguered from conservatives who many of the aforesaid have blamed the IRP's problems on, for example, from Patrick O'Malley, Steve Rauschenberger, Chris Lauzen, and Jim Oberweis?
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6018630
(THE ARTICLE: CHICAGO -- Beleaguered Illinois GOP knows it has work to do Farmer Mike Kenyon wasn't too downtrodden after Illinois Republicans lost a coveted congressional seat to a Democrat in House Speaker Dennis Hastert's old district last weekend. "We needed the wake up call," said Kenyon, head of the Kane County Republican Party. They got one. And Democrat Bill Foster's solid win over businessman Jim Oberweis in traditional GOP territory is more than a hint at what Republicans might expect this fall, when they face tough battles in several Illinois districts. The GOP hopes it can fix what went wrong before November. Democrats, meanwhile, are counting on changing demographics in traditional Republican strongholds and national calls for change to help strengthen their hold on Congress. "This was not a good election for Republicans looking toward November," said former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. Democrats have their sights set on several seats, including those of GOP Rep. Mark Kirk, who won a surprisingly close re-election last time in his northern Illinois district, and fellow Republican Rep. Jerry Weller, who is leaving amid ethics questions after seven terms. Foster's win in Hastert's district was another blow to an already beleaguered Illinois GOP, which holds no statewide offices and must contend with a Democratic-controlled Legislature. But state GOP chairman Andy McKenna said the political climate could shift by fall, and noted that Illinois Republicans won tough races in 2006 -- a big year for Democrats when they snagged control of Congress. "You never give up," McKenna said. Foster, sworn in as a congressman on Tuesday, defeated Oberweis by capturing 53 percent of the nearly 100,000 votes cast in last weekend's special election to fill the remainder of Hastert's term, which ends in January. Hastert resigned late last year. But the Democratic takeover of the district that stretches from Chicago's far western suburbs to almost the Mississippi River will be short-lived unless Foster beats Oberweis again in November and wins a new, full term. Still, even Oberweis seemed at a loss to explain why he couldn't take the seat Hastert held for two decades. "We're still trying to figure out if it was a failure of organization or if it was a failure of message," Oberweis said Wednesday on WLS-AM. Kenyon and other observers from both political parties say some of the problems start with Oberweis. "He has to work on the right message to reach the Republican voters," Kenyon said. Kenyon said he didn't appreciate how both Foster and Oberweis went negative and was disappointed by the turnout. About 42,000 fewer people voted in last weekend's special election than in the Feb. 5 special primary for that race. Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont said Oberweis' loss might be about something more fundamental. "I don't think that we had the best candidate; obviously the majority of people didn't think so," Radogno said. She said there also are some negative perceptions about Oberweis because he has previously run unsuccessfully for office -- twice for the U.S. Senate and once for Illinois governor. And she said the Republican Party has sometimes focused too much on candidates who are rich enough to finance to their own campaigns, like Oberweis, a millionaire businessman whose name is synonymous with his family's dairy business and his financial management firm. "That is simply not enough," she said. Oberweis spokesman Bill Pascoe dismissed any suggestion that Oberweis might abandon his bid for Congress. But Democrats and Republicans both say something else could affect the GOP's chances: changing demographics in many traditionally Republican districts. Suburban sprawl is spreading from Chicago and the immigrant population, including Latinos, is growing. The changes just in Hastert's old 14th Congressional District are striking. In 1990, the district had about 571,000 people, compared to an estimated population of more than 770,000 in 2005, according to The "Almanac of American Politics." The district also became more Hispanic, according to the Almanac. For example, in Kane County, the district's largest voting bloc, the Hispanic or Latino population grew from about 96,000 people in 2000 to more than 137,000 in 2006, according to Census data. Even so, Radogno and Edgar said they believe Republicans have a chance this fall and that Oberweis' loss isn't necessarily a predictor of things to come. "I don't think anybody should say this means Mark Kirk is in big trouble," Edgar said. Kirk faces a second consecutive challenge from Democrat Dan Seals in a northern Illinois district that seems to be trending more Democratic. Seals, who has the backing of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, got 47 percent of the vote in the last election against Kirk, who was first elected in 2000. But Edgar is less confident about the race to replace Weller. The Democratic Party's chances in that district improved when the Republican nominee dropped out of the race and a new candidate has not yet been slated to take on well-known Democratic state Sen. Debbie Halvorson and Green Party newcomer Jason Wallace. "You've got to be even more nervous about that," Edgar said.)
-- VERY SAD: Rezko trial testimony reveals political favors
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6018812

DAILY HERALD
-- FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH COLOR PHOTO OF OBERWEIS: Oberweis likely on his own in November - Joseph Ryan
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=153434
(THE ARTICLE: The Republican Party's congressional war chest, which flooded the suburbs with mailers and TV ads on behalf of Jim Oberweis this month, may back out of the coming rematch with Bill Foster. Oberweis spokesman Bill Pascoe said Thursday it seems "highly unlikely" the National Republican Congressional Committee will chip in for the general election. An NRCC spokeswoman declined to say whether the woefully underfunded organization will help Oberweis financially. But she said they still hope he wins the seat once held by veteran House Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert. "We definitely expect this to be a possible pickup opportunity," Betsy Andres said. The NRCC spent about $1.2 million in the 14th Congressional District to try to prevent Foster from winning the seat in a special election March 8. That amounted to nearly a fifth of the NRCC's total bankroll at the time. The Democrats' congressional campaign wing spent about the same amount to help Foster. That committee has more than $30 million to spend on congressional races to expand the party's House majority. Foster won the district, which stretches from Aurora west to near the Iowa border, by 5 percentage points. Pascoe said that given the NRCC's financial situation, he expects the general election rematch to get bumped down on the priority list. After all, Foster will be taking on Oberweis as an incumbent in the fall. The absence of NRCC cash, however, is not expected to tame the race. The special election was top-heavy with negative ads, robo-calls and feisty mailers from both sides. It also drew outside support from Barack Obama, who cut a TV ad and mobilized volunteers for Foster, and John McCain, who rallied the troops at a campaign stop for Oberweis. The expensive campaigns were largely funded by the wealthy candidates. Oberweis, who owns the ice cream and dairy stores under his name, spent about $2.3 million of his own money. He raised $500,000 more from donors. Foster, a former Geneva physicist who founded a lighting company, spent about $1.3 million of his own money and raised another $600,000. Pascoe said Oberweis may be prepared to spend another $2.5 million of his own cash in the general election. But he will also rely on donors. "We have built a pretty good fundraising operation, and we will continue with that," he said. In his previous failed bids for U.S. senate and governor, Oberweis was also mostly a self-financing candidate. Foster spokesman Andrew DuPree declined to say what their funding plans are for the general election. A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declined to say what the organization might spend in the fall, but the race remains a target for retention.)
-- Illinois House members clash on Cook County tax hike - Amber Krosel
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=153380&src=109
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: The Illinois Republican Party exists to elect candidates who can and will advance the Republican Party platform, a platform that is conservative. If 24-year-old Daily Herald reporter Hafsa Mahmood had ever written an article on Illinois' participation in CPAC, she would know who Pat Boone is, a regular CPAC participant, and she would know what CPAC stands for - Conservative Political Action Conference. If more Illinois Republican candidates, more Illinois Republican elected officials, more Illinois Republican Party leaders, and more Illinois conservative leaders would attend CPACs, more Republicans would be better prepared to do more to help elect Republicans in Illinois. American Conservative Union Director Joseph A. Morris represents CPAC in Illinois. He can be reached at 312-606-0876.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=153265

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
-- VERY SAD: Republicans struggling to get A-list candidates - Jim Tankersley
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-republican14mar14,1,6013575.story
(FROM THE ARTICLE: WASHINGTON - The candidates who lifted Democrats to House control in 2006 were a carefully culled, largely centrist team that included military veterans, business executives, a tough-talking sheriff and a former pro quarterback. The list of Republican recruits for House races this year tells a much different story. Against freshman Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), the GOP has . . . no one. Same for the race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill). In the 29 House districts nationwide that Democrats consider most vulnerable for a Republican pickup, only 19 boast a challenger the Democrats deem "credible." For the last 75 years, parties that lost power in the House and Senate, as the Republicans did two years ago, have almost always rebounded to gain seats the following election—most recently in 1996, when Democrats recovered from the "Republican Revolution" of 1994 to net eight House districts. But for the GOP this year, all signs point to another election under siege. Their House candidates trail Democrats in fundraising and voter enthusiasm. Their incumbents are retiring in droves. Some of their longtime strongholds now appear to be in play, as illustrated by the Democrats' upset win in former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's district last Saturday. For several key seats, GOP leaders have recruited candidates whom analysts consider second-tier. In others, they've recruited no one.)
-- From City Hall to Tomczak to Savio case, a tangled web - John Kass
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-kass-14mar14,1,6775411.column
(FROM THE COMMENTARY: Both Tomczak-approved cases against Savio went to trial, and she was found not guilty in each. Yet Savio was nobody and Peterson was a somebody. Tomczak believed Peterson. And he had a heavy boss, Republican bigwig Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar, who supported Daley's favorite prosecutor, Tomczak. Claar once smoothly joined with a Chicago insurance executive and Rush Street fixture, the cowboy-booted Dickie Parrillo, and the late Rosemont Mayor Donald Stephens, and former Emerald Casino investors, to create a fund for the now-imprisoned Gov. George Ryan. Claar told us he never used clout to help Peterson and that his Police Department turned over the case to state police. When Savio's body was found, her family tried to bring evidence to Tomczak. "I kept calling the state's attorney and the police with all that stuff," her sister, Anna Doman, told Walberg. "At first, they just said, 'Well, we're investigating. And if we need it [evidence of abuse], we'll call you.' Then after it went to the coroner's office, they said, 'Sorry, it's an accident -- case closed.'" Tomczak is still feuding with the man who defeated him in 2004, State's Atty. James Glasgow, a Democrat. A Glasgow spokesman earlier said that state police had presented evidence about Savio to Tomczak's office, but that Tomczak filed no charges in her death. We called Tomczak for comment, about the Savio evidence, Tomczak's relationships with Peterson and Claar and other matters. "Maybe I'll send my statement over, and if you don't print the whole thing and say you did print the whole thing, I'll call a press conference and tell the other reporters what you did not print," he said.)
-- How Illinois convention delegates break down: McCain-54, Romney-3 - Rick Pearson
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2008/03/how-illinois-co.html
(THE ARTICLE: Illinois State Board of Elections officials on Thursday finalized the list of delegates selected through the Feb. 5 presidential primaries. For the record, of the 100 delegates directly at stake on Feb. 5 in the Democratic primary, Sen. Barack Obama got 69 and Sen. Hillary Clinton got 31. Another 53 at-large delegates will be selected based on statewide results reflecting Obama’s huge victory, and another 32 are those unpledged “superdelegates” selected from party leadership who may ultimately decide the presidential nomination. One other note from today’s State Board of Elections work. There will be enough delegates on the GOP side for fans of former presidential contender Mitt Romney to hold a three-handed poker game. Of the 57 Republican delegates at stake on Feb. 5, Sen. John McCain got 54 of them. But in the 14th Congressional District, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert won the top delegate spot for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who dropped out after the “Super Tuesday” contests. Hastert, who never had much good to say about McCain, favored Jim Oberweis as his replacement as congressman in the district, only to see the dairy mogul defeated Saturday by Democrat Bill Foster. Joining Hastert in the Romney caucus of the Illinois delegation are state Sen. Dan Rutherford of Chenoa, who was Romney’s Illinois director and the first-place delegate finisher in central Illinois’ 15th Congressional District, and state Sen. Dale Righter of Mattoon, who finished fourth in the district.)
-- Race, Obama and Clinton - Editorial
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-0314edit1mar14,0,7172438.story

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
-- Blagojevich play race card as Obama rises above - Rich Miller
http://www.suntimes.com/news/miller/index.html
-- Obama lists pet projects, at last His pattern is to take on a higher ethical standard when it's politically expedient - Lynn Sweet
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/842166,CST-NWS-sweet14.article

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
-- VERY SAD: GOP not close to naming replacement for congressional race 11th District search continues after Baldermann dropped out - Kurt Erickson
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/03/13/news/doc47d834b73394f874518107.txt

BEACON NEWS
-- Haul out the Rezko scorecard Cross, Birkett among potential witnesses
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/842332,2_1_AU14_REZKO_S1.article
-- Cross names Matt O'Shea new chief of staff - Rowena Vergara
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/841928,2_1_AU14_CROSS_S1.article

SUBURBAN LIFE
-- Oberweis to Foster: It’s not over - Alison Swade
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/downersgrove/homepage/x39089893
(THE ARTICLE: Bartlett, IL - Republicans are still shaking their heads over Saturday’s special election, where Democrat Bill Foster claimed victory over their long-held Congressional 14th District. Bill Foster, a former scientist at Batavia’s Fermilab, creamed Republican dairy owner Jim Oberweis by winning 52 percent of the vote in a special election to fill Rep. Dennis Hastert’s seat. Oberweis took about 48 percent of the vote. Voters, who may be relieved to get a break from brutal back-to-back television ads, are likely to see a second battle when the seat is up for grabs in November. Just how soon is too soon? Oberweis representative Justin Shimko said it may be too early to tell. “We have no idea yet,” Shimko said. “We’re going to look at the numbers and see who came out there and voted.” This week Oberweis’ campaign staff members will look at what they could have done differently, and then determine how to approach advertisements months down the line, Shimko said. Oberweis spent double what Foster did throughout the campaign. Of the $2.9 million Oberweis raised, $2.3 million was his own money. Foster brought in $2.1 million, of which he chipped in $1.3 million. Now that Foster has claimed victory, his campaign representatives said he is more focused on his new position than beginning to plan for the November election. “His focus is being a responsive representative for the 14th District, and working hard for the voters the rest of the year,” said Foster’s spokesperson, Andrew Dupuy. Dupuy said Foster is excited to fulfill his duty to those who have demanded change, and is focused on beginning his work in Washington. Many Kane County voters aren’t used to having a Democrat in the seat, which has been held by former House Speaker Hastert for the past 12 years. Hastert resigned in November after the Republican Party lost its majority in the House. This move gave Republicans enough time to draw support for the special election, said Alan Gitelson, author of “American Elections: The Rules Matter” and professor at Loyola University in Chicago. “It was a clearly calculated effort,” said Gitelson. “But in this case, it backfired.” The Constitution states if there is a vacancy in the House, the governor must call for a special election. This differs from a vacancy in the Senate, which allows states to fill a temporary seat, and then hold an election at the time of the next federal election, Gitelson said. Oftentimes, this works toward the party’s advantage because a Republican typically appoints a Republican. However, a special election allows for the democratic process to take shape - which Foster supporters said made this win even more rewarding. “This is big,” Dupuy said. “When you do this kind of work, it is satisfying to send someone we believe in to Washington.” Meanwhile, Oberweis’ campaign is not calling it quits just yet. Disappointed but hopeful, they are beginning work for the November election, still eight months away, today. “It’s a new election, which will bring new opportunities and challenges,” Shimko said. “Day one starts now.”)

QUINCY HERALD WHIG
-- Sauerberg backs health insurance tax credits - Doug Wilson
http://www.whig.com/Sauerberg--THUR2008-03-13T11-44-26

NAPERVILLE SUN
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Outrageously, the Naperville Sun promotes a DAWN "anti-war" vigil in Glen Ellyn. If DAWN had been successful during World War II, we would all be speaking German, Italian, and/or Japanese now.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/842130,6_1_NA14_DAWN_S1.article
(THE PROMOTION: DuPage Against War Now will sponsor a vigil from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday to call for an end to the war in Iraq. The vigil will be held at the corners of Duane and Main streets in Glen Ellyn. Parking is available on nearby streets and in public lots nearby. DAWN is also collecting razors, packaged underwear, aftershave, shaving cream and toiletries to present to the veterans at Hines Veterans Hospital in Maywood. The public is invited to the family-friendly vigil. Attendees are asked to bring their own candles and some to share and are welcome to bring signs, prayers, poetry and music.)

WHEATON SUN
-- Bilingual education doesn't work - Priscilla Weese, Wheaton
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/wheatonsun/news/letters/830052,6_9_2_NA07_WSLETTERS_S1.article
(THE LETTER: Bilingual education is now the politically correct mantra coming from both educators and Spanish-speaking immigrants. Chinese immigrants are not demanding Mandarin for their children; nor are Pakistanis demanding Urdu for theirs or Tagalog for the Filipinos. They know that if their children are not educated in English, higher education will be impossible for their children. There are no universities, state board exams in nursing, physical therapists, physicians, barbers or beauticians or other professions given in anything but English. Thus, children educated in Spanish have no way to rise in our country. The only options available to them are to remain in lower-class jobs requiring only a high school graduation or return their country of origin for higher education. To speak a language does not necessarily mean a person can be educated in it. A look at how bilingual countries have worked is instructive. On our northern border we have Canada, which has both English and French as official languages. There are always hard feelings between the language groups. Quebec complains that their standard of living is lower than the other provinces because the English provinces discriminate. Every 20 years or so, Quebec threatens to secede. Belgium is a tiny country but has two official languages, French in the south and Flemish in the north. Feelings run high, and voting is always along language lines. Rwanda is a an even smaller country with a population of 8 million. Rwanda experienced a genocide where the Hutus and Tutsis slaughtered 1 million of their fellow countrymen. That 1 in 8 people were slaughtered on language differences is hard to comprehend. On gaining independence in 1947, India declared that it would have four official languages. It just did not work for higher education. A lack of professional textbooks and current journals in the medical, engineering, sciences and other professions hampered education. Now the government is allowing English, calling it "our window to the world." Our family was living in Nigeria during the Biafran war. Again, the conflict went down language, tribal lines. We had to secrete out three of our Igbo nursing students and drive them back to Biafra at night because we knew they would be killed if they stayed at our hospital in the Yuroba tribe. The United States is not united by country of origin but by language. It has to be English.)
-- Wheaton gearing up for sesquicentennial - Ron Pazola
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/wheatonsun/news/839933,6_1_NA14_WS150TH_S1.article

CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
-- Free-Falling GOP Crash-lands in Illinois Cornfield - Bob Benenson
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002687879

NEW YORK TIMES
-- Obama Lists His Earmarks, Asking Clinton for Hers - Christopher Drew and Jo Becker
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14campaign.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

ABC NEWS
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 Obama's Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Has a History of What Even Obama's Campaign Aides Say Is 'Inflammatory Rhetoric' - Brian Ross and Rehab El-Buri
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4443788&page=1

ILLINOIS REVIEW
-- BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS: OBVIOUSLY ANTI-CHRISTIAN: OBVOIUSLY ANTI-AMERICAN: Obama's spiritual mentor in action
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/03/obamas-spiritua.html
(THE ARTICLE: I have to fully agree with Sean Hannity last night who told his television audience he's not going to let up on exposing the outrageous hateful teachings of Barack Obama's pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ. Here's a portion of the sermon we referred to earlier. Think of the next president of the United States sitting under this kind of teaching for over 20 years, not offended, not resistant, but fully supportive of this angry, bigoted theology and adhering to the Black Value System: (VIDEO) This was Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright's 2007 Christmas sermon. This segment of Wright's sermon is one reason why the IRS is considering fining the church for political speech from the pulpit. One can't get more political than this. Tell us that this doesn't matter, is guilt by association? This is hate speech. He has a right to preach it, to say it. We have a right to reject it.)

ECONOMIST
-- VERY SAD: 14th Congressional District: Illinois Democrats striking at the red heart: A bastion of Republican strength elects a Democrat
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10854016
(THE ARTICLE: The roots of Illinois's sprawling 14th congressional district are deepest red. Stretching from suburban Chicago almost as far as the Iowa border, the district is home to Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving House speaker in Republican history, and contains the closest thing to a Republican Nazareth, Ronald Reagan's boyhood town. With its cornfields and subdivisions, mega-malls and mega-churches, the district has long represented the Republicans' strength in middle America. Well, it did until last week. Mr Hastert resigned from Congress last year. On March 8th Bill Foster, a Democrat, beat Jim Oberweis in a special election to replace him—and he won easily, 53% to 47%. The National Republican Congressional Committee had poured more than $1m into Mr Oberweis's campaign, while Democrats spent almost as much on Mr Foster. The Democrats declared that the win had sent “a political shock wave across America”. Republicans grumble that one special election does not make a national trend. Besides, Mr Foster will have to run again in November, as the special election gives him the post only until the end of the year. But his victory should indeed worry conservatives. Mr Foster seems like a nice man, but he was not a notably charismatic candidate. It was his Democratic message—he wants to leave Iraq and supports universal health care—that seemed to resonate. A main selling point was an advert featuring Barack Obama, the Illinois senator and presidential hopeful. To be sure, Mr Oberweis was a lacklustre opponent. This was his fourth unsuccessful campaign. But it may be telling that Mr Obama's support seemed to buoy Mr Foster, while endorsements for Mr Oberweis by both Mr Hastert and John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, failed to have much effect. Mr Foster's coup also points to a demographic shift in suburbia, a change that may help Democrats in November and beyond. Illinois's suburban counties are growing rapidly—Kendall was America's third-fastest-growing county in 2006. This has brought new diversity. Chicago's suburbs are now home to more Latinos than the city itself. Booming suburban job centres have also attracted younger, more Democratic voters. In the primary on February 5th, conservative DuPage county saw Democratic ballots outnumber Republican ones for the first time in memory. This was due in part to Mr Obama's local celebrity, but it was remarkable nonetheless. “The easiest way to win an election is to change the electorate,” reckons Dick Simpson, a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago.)

ACLU ILLINOIS
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: OUTRAGEOUS: "Chicago Civil Rights Groups" blame Chicago Public Schools for English problems that 3,000 children of immigrants have. Why don't the parents of these children teach them English?
http://www.aclu-il.org/news/press/2008/03/chicago_civil_rights_groups_de.shtml

TOWNHALL
-- Sex in Their City - Sandy Rioshttp://www.townhall.com/Columnists/SandyRios/2008/03/13/sex_in_their_city

CONSERVATIVE HEADQUARTERS
-- Loss of Hastert Seat is Proof Conservatives Are Prepared to Sit Out This Year's Elections It's a wakeup call for John McCain - Richard Viguerie
http://conservativehq.com/blog/loss_of_hastert_seat_is_proof_conservatives_are_prepared_to_sit_out_this_year_elections/

CHAMPION NEWS
-- The Republican Elephant in Illinois tells its tormentors to get lost - Doug Ibendahl
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=862
(THE COMMENTARY: Back in October we published a compilation piece with some of the humorous critiques from wags around the country weighing in on the logo just unveiled by the Republican National Committee (RNC) for the upcoming Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. That logo features a blue elephant up on its hind legs taking a wide stance. Putting aside the obvious observation that blue has been the color of the Democratic Party for a long time now, some of the commentators thought the elephant seemed a bit testy. Here are a couple of the pithier quotes: "This pachyderm seems angry to me, up on hind legs as if he's taken too much abuse from his trainer." - Andrew Blauvelt, design director/curator at the Walker Art Center in Minnesota. "It reminds us of those old movies where the elephants, tired of being pursued, rise up and stomp the hunting party into the mud." - Pioneer Press, Minneapolis-St. Paul. It's certainly true that the national GOP elephant has some good reasons to be grumpy these days. But the situation is infinitely worse in Illinois. In Illinois the elephant has officially said enough's enough. It's not performing for this circus anymore. The numbers speak for themselves. On February 5th, even traditional GOP strongholds saw Democrats swamping the Republican turnout. In DuPage County around 24,000 more people cast a Democratic ballot than a Republican one. In Will and Lake Counties voter preferences were even more lopsided in favor of the Democrats. Of course yet another wake-up call was delivered last Saturday in the 14th Congressional District's special election. Dennis Hastert's handpicked political heir Jim Oberweis lost by six percentage points in a district that was gerrymandered Republican to within an inch of its life in the last remap, by Denny himself. The November election in Illinois is shaping up to be an even bigger catastrophe for the Illinois GOP than the election of 2006 - and that was a pretty major debacle. The warning signs are more obvious than ever, but our old leadership remains paralyzed by dysfunction and self-interest. Sure, the old faces can rattle off all the lame excuses, e.g., "it's President Bush's fault"; "it's because Barack Obama's on the ballot"; and "it's the war." And perhaps the most all-purpose excuse of all "the demographics changed." To the extent party affiliation is part of that demographic index then I suppose that's true. It's also incredibly circular analysis. The rank-and-file hear a lot of excuses. What they aren't seeing is any semblance of serious leadership from the Illinois GOP. Forget this nonsense about "infighting between conservatives and moderates." That's not what's going on and that's not the problem. Dishonesty, self-dealing, pettiness and unprofessionalism are what killed the Illinois GOP, and that behavior has known no ideological boundaries. That's demonstrably true. Consider for example that Hastert, Andy McKenna, Bob Kjellander and Judy Baar Topinka have been at the helm together for the past few years engineering the latest crashes. Topinka of course is a liberal while McKenna, Kjellander and Hastert are self-described conservatives. But they've all been buddy, buddy. It should be obvious to everyone by now that this old crew doesn't sit around contemplating public policy or ideological issues at all. That's not what they care about. Instead, everything's driven by incumbent protection, jobs and contracts for pals, and deciding which "non-unifier" to crucify next. This year Chris Lauzen's number just happened to be up. Hastert's crew came after Chris over personal grudges, nothing more. Chris' fellow former-Fab-Fiver Peter Fitzgerald got the same treatment for years, from the same hit squad, before he eventually decided to throw in the towel and not seek re-election back in 2004. But unlike Fitzgerald, Lauzen wouldn't simply go away. He kept his sights on moving-up to Congress. Hastert's crew then backed Oberweis as the all-too-willing vehicle through which they could attack Chris and smear his reputation. However note how once Lauzen was slapped down in the primary, Hastert's enthusiasm for Oberweis seemed to evaporate. Denny pretty much left Oberweis to twist in the wind for the Special General. That's typical. Under Hastert, the Illinois GOP became all about petty and payback. The good news is the Illinois GOP is beginning to turn a page on an embarrassing chapter in its history. Many of the old ringleaders who did little in our Party beyond obstructing positive change are done. Hastert's gone. Topinka's gone. George Ryan's in prison. Ray LaHood's gone. Longtime State Central Committee member MaryAlice Erickson just retired. Hastert's mentor, the once ultra-powerful Dallas Ingemunson even lost his race for precinct committeeman last month in Kendall County. And National Committeeman Bob Kjellander is hanging by a thread and will be gone soon, albeit not soon enough. The next person to go should obviously be State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna. It's a mystery why he's hung around this long. Even Topinka was smart enough to only stay around for one election disaster as Party Chairman. Right after the 2006 losing election we published this piece: Illinois GOP ignored every tsunami warning. It contained a laundry list of bad acts and betrayals under McKenna's watch that made winning impossible. The wipe-out at the polls two years ago surprised no one. When the guys and gals in charge are constantly putting their own interests ahead of Republicans and the Party they are sworn to serve, of course Republicans are going to lose. Incredibly, little has changed since then. Republicans are still stuck with the same unprofessional management and broken machinery at the State GOP. Other than dishonestly making sure Republicans don't get to directly elect their own State Party leadership again, McKenna's done almost nothing since the 2006 disaster. Now and then Tom Cross takes time away from collecting pay-to-play contributions from casino lobbyists to also keep Republicans from having a direct voice in their State Party. The State GOP is broken, so of course the first priority of McKenna and Cross is to make sure that Republicans don't get to directly choose better leaders for that broken organization. Seriously, is someone paying these guys to make Illinois bluer? You can't mistreat and mislead the Republican elephant for 11 months a year and then expect it to carry your load just when you're in a bind at election time. It simply doesn't work that way. Jim Oberweis just learned that lesson. November will educate many more. The State GOP Convention is coming-up in Decatur on June 6th and 7th. We all need to do more than just complain. We all need to get there and make real change happen. We're not going to be able to stop the next tsunami that's racing towards the Illinois GOP in November. The old guard has allowed things to get too bad for that. But Republicans need to advance the ball wherever they can. Where we still have leaders at the top who care more about self-perpetuation than winning, we need to find new leaders who can offer more than excuses.)
-- Coalition organizes in opposition to SB2288 Illinois income tax increase - Greg Blankenship, President, Illinois Policy Institute; John Biver, President, Family Taxpayers Foundation; Joe Calomino, Executive Director, AFP Illinois; Paul Caprio, Executive Director, FamilyPAC; Kim Maisch, Executive Director, NFIB; Grover Norquist, President, Illinois Americans for Tax Reform; John Tsarpalas, President, Sam Adams Alliance
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=861

TAPROOT REPUBLICANS OF ILLINOIS
-- OUTSTANDING: Pat Durante, DuPage County Republican Party Vice Chairman and Addison Township Republican Party Chairman, will speak at TAPROOT'S March 15 breakfast meeting - Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com/
(THE ARTICLE: All Republicans are invited to attend TAPROOT's breakfast meeting tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, in the North meeting room of the Old Country Buffet at 551 E. Roosevelt Road in Lombard. The restaurant opens at 8:00 AM and the meeting starts at 8:30 AM and will conclude before 10:00 AM. Attendees need to purchase a meal ticket. TAPROOT is honored that Pat Durante, the DuPage County Republican Party Vice Chairman and Addison Township Republican Party Chairman, will speak at the meeting about efforts to assure Republican victories in DuPage County on November 4. The many outstanding individuals who have spoken at TAPROOT events in recent years include: Stan Austin, Patti Bellock, Bob Biggins, Joe Birkett, Scott Bludorn, John Borling, Bill Brady, Pat Brady, Wally Brown, John Cox, Dan Cronin, John Curran, John Demling, Joe Denner, Edward Derwinski, MaryAlice Erickson, Blanche Fawell, Mike Fortner, Steve Greenberg, Gwen Henry, John Kinsella, Peter LaBarbera, Chris Lauzen, Andy McKenna, Jim Nalepa, Jim Oberweis, Teri O'Brien, Sean O'Kane, Pat O'Malley, Kenneth Popejoy, Mike Prueter, Rosanna Pulido, Steve Rauschenberger, Sandy Rios, Tom Roeser, Peter Roskam, Darlene Ruscitti, Jack Ryan, Richard Russo, Steve Sauerberg, Brien Sheahan, Dave Smith, Fred Spitzzeri, Rick Stock, Ray True, John Tsarpalas, Sandy Wegman, Jon Zahm, and Dan Zanoza. Phone Dave Diersen at 630-653-0462 or George Kocan at 630-393-6401 if any questions.)

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
CORRECTED 3/13/08 DIERSEN HEADLINE: OUSTANDING: Bassi and Murphy introduce bills that would make it easier for the 750,000 in Barrington, Maine, Elk Grove, Hanover, Schaumburg, Palatine and Wheeling TOWNSHIPS to leave Cook County and form a new county, hopefully to be called "Reagan County." Those Republican TOWNSHIPS are the Democrat Cook County's "golden goose" just like the Republican DuPage County is the Democrat Illinois' "golden goose."
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=152700&src=1